Vijayawada: Municipal administration and urban development minister P Narayana directed Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials to widen outfall drains to improve stormwater drainage in the city.
On Saturday, the minister conducted a whirlwind inspection of areas including Gunadala Pulletikatta, Darsi Peta, Fakeer Gudem, and the Benz Circle flyover underpass, assessing the causes of stormwater stagnation in colonies and main roads.
He also visited the VMC Satellite Station at Autonagar. Noting that some drains are only two feet wide —far too narrow to handle stormwater effectively — Narayana questioned how such drains could serve a city requiring 10-foot-wide channels.
He announced that drain-widening projects, funded by VMC and CRDA, will begin in September 2025. VMC officials reported that illegal constructions, including compound walls and buildings, obstruct stormwater flow by encroaching on drain lands.In response, Narayana instructed VMC commissioner H M Dhyanachandra to identify all encroachments and take steps to widen the drains for proper rainwater flow.
He also directed local representatives to engage sensitively and transparently with affected residents to avoid disputes, assuring that those displaced by the project would be allotted Tidco houses.The minister highlighted that during the 2014–2019 TDP government, a Rs. 500 crore stormwater drainage project was initiated, with 55 per cent of the work completed. He criticized the subsequent YSRCP government for neglecting the remaining 45 per cent, leading to the city’s current drainage issues. Narayana vowed to resolve the stormwater problem by the 2026 rainy season.
Regarding encroachments along the Budameru drain, the minister said a technical committee from the Irrigation Department has been formed to study the issue and submit a report. The committee will evaluate whether widening the Budameru drain or raising its embankments is necessary.
VMC commissioner Dhyanachandra, in coordination with irrigation officials, will make a final decision based on the committee’s recommendations.
Accompanying the minister were VMC commissioner . Dhyanachandra, chief engineer Srinadh Reddy, public health department chief engineer Prabhakar, and other officials.
